Jet-lag in Sgr A*: What size and timing measurements tell us about the central black hole in the Milky Way

TL;DR

This study tests a relativistic jet model for Sgr A* using size and time lag measurements, finding evidence for a mildly relativistic jet outflow and demonstrating the effectiveness of combined VLBI and timing data in probing black hole environments.

Contribution

It provides the first comprehensive test of jet model predictions against size and time lag data for Sgr A*, confirming the jet origin of radio emission.

Findings

Time lags are consistent with a mildly relativistic jet.

Size measurements support a jet outflow with gamma*beta ~ 0.5-2.

The combined data strengthen the jet hypothesis for Sgr A*'s emission.

Abstract

The black hole at the Galactic Center, Sgr A*, is the prototype of a galactic nucleus at a very low level of activity. Its radio through submm-wave emission is known to come from a region close to the event horizon, however, the source of the emission is still under debate. A successful theory explaining the emission is based on a relativistic jet model scaled down from powerful quasars. We want to test the predictive power of this established jet model against newly available measurements of wavelength-dependent time lags and the size-wavelength structure in Sgr A*. Using all available closure amplitude VLBI data from different groups, we again derived the intrinsic wavelength-dependent size of Sgr A*. This allowed us to calculate the expected frequency-dependent time lags of radio flares, assuming a range of in- and outflow velocities. Moreover, we calculated the time lags expected in the previously published pressure-driven jet model. The predicted lags are then compared to radio monitoring observations at 22, 43, and 350 GHz. The combination of time lags and size measurements imply a mildly relativistic outflow with bulk outflow speeds of gamma*beta ~ 0.5-2. The newly measured time lags are reproduced well by the jet model without any major fine tuning. The results further strengthen the case for the cm-to-mm wave radio emission in Sgr A* as coming from a mildly relativistic jet-like outflow. The combination of radio time lag and VLBI closure amplitude measurements is a powerful new tool for assessing the flow speed and direction in Sgr A*. Future VLBI and time lag measurements over a range of wavelengths will reveal more information about Sgr A*, such as the existence of a jet nozzle, and measure the detailed velocity structure of a relativistic jet near its launching point for the first time.